The Traitorous Tale of Bellatrix Black
by Trix-of-black
Summary: Bellatrix is a young 17 year old witch, madly in love to the point of going insane with a boy called Tom Riddle. This is the story of how she begins to loose her mind and become Voldermorts most loyal servant. I'm terrible at summaries but I think its worth a read if you love Bellatrix . Please review - rated T for some chapters that are a bit...Well read and you'll find out ;))
1. Chapter 1

Whispers in the Wood.

It was early morning; the sun had just begun to rise above the many mountains and hills that surrounded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, slowly turning the sky from darkness to a rosy, purple and pink.

Not that this mattered at all to Bellatrix for she could see nothing of the sky in the Slytherin common room. Instead she watched as the many darkened shapes of different creatures became slightly clearer in image under the murky water. She distinguished Mermaids and Hinkypunks as well as a few Grendilo colonies moving about past the lake view window.

Bellatrix had done this for several nights now, where instead of sleeping she had just sat by the wall high window and watched, and thought. Thought about how she had so hated being at home with her perfect younger sisters Narcissa- who was now in her third year at Hogwarts and in everyone's eyes could do no wrong, and Andromeda.

Andromeda, the middle child of the three, had begun her fifth year this term had recently been discovered by Bellatrix in the third floor broom cupboard with a muggle-born named Tonks. However disgusted Bellatrix was by her younger sisters behavior however, they had made her swear not to tell their father (Cygnus Black) until the following summer, if the relationship lasted till then. This hadn't bothered Bellatrix that much in any case, she enjoyed the fear it inflicted in them both, but lately she had neither spoken nor seen either of them for at least two weeks.

Bellatrix also sat and pondered how her father had told her, that once she left Hogwarts after her final year, this year, that she would have to marry Rudolfus Lestrange.

As far as Bellatrix knew Rudolfus was a wealthy pure blood, who had just taken up a post at the Ministry of magic rather than completing his final learning year.

She would think about Tom Riddle, about their secret. She would sit there for hours, maybe all night, and imagine the two of them running away together, where they could live happily away from all their troubles.

But Tom had refused point blank. He had stated he was never going to run away with her, he never wanted that sort of life. However the last they had spoken was in a heated dispute in greenhouse three after hours. While the rest of the school were sat eating and enjoying the Halloween feast, they had been arguing over how Tom had vanished over the summer. How he had not written to her or responded to any of her owls, she must have sent him hundreds she would think. How several muggles with the same name, Riddle, had mysteriously died and how Tom was now only answering to the name Voldermort-insisting that his friends addressed him so from now on.

Tom had accused Bellatrix of getting in the way of his plans. She was an inconvenience to him.

As she thought of this, her tired, red raw eyes tinged with the feeling of tears, but she had cried too much already so no tears came. The familiar feeling of being winded returned in her stomach, but still she did not cry. She didn't make a sound.  
The lake was beginning to turn a pale musky green and the sound of other pupil's footsteps could be heard as they began to get up for the Saturday morning sunrise.

The early risers at this time could only be the Quiditch team, but still Bellatrix decided not to stick around and make casual conversation with any of them, especially as the two beaters, Crabbe and Golan McNair, were close friends with Tom.

At this she decided the best thing would be to go and see if her cousin, Sirius, was awake yet in the Gryffindor dormitory. Perhaps he could help her she thought.

Naturally the two of them never got along too well, Slytherin's and Gryffindor's never co-operated well together as it was, but Sirius had always managed to find a little bit of compassion to help Bellatrix in her times of need or distress.

As she walked out of the common room and climbed the many stone staircases up to the Gryffindor passageway she thought back to the previous summer.

Sirius had been a great help to her. Cygnus Black had just announced to Bellatrix that the marriage for next summer had been arranged and there was no going back. In her desperation she had run away to Grimauld place for three weeks, where Sirius had sat up every night till the early hours of the morning, listening to her worries, her cries and more recently her temper. Sirius had always managed to calm her down then.

However more recently her anger had been less controllable and her magic was suffering. Much to Tom and his friend's amusement.

Last transfiguration lesson she had received a Howler from her father outlining his epitomizing rage at her behaviour. She had been completely humiliated in front of the entire class, who had been speechless for a full five minutes, even Professor Dippet had been unable to teach or move for that matter. All eyes were fixated on her and her embarrassment turned quickly to fury and when she attempted to turn her Three-headed-newt into a mocking jay, it had blown up in to a cloud of blue and grey feathers.

This had served its purpose but not as she had hoped. In her mind she had wanted to perform it successfully and dumbstruck the class yet again with her abilities, but it had indeed, rebounded. In spite of that the class had become re-animated again only this time to burst into uncontrollable laughter, and at this, she collected her things and left the class.

Finally she reached the Thin Lady's portrait, which concealed the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. The Lady however, was sitting in her chair but had fallen asleep, in her hand were several empty Bustkins Dimwit Dohnut wrappers and her mouth was still covered in several layers of different chocolates and sugars.

"Ahem!" coughed Bellatrix. The Thin Lady twitched.

"AHEM!" Bellatrix coughed a little louder this time, but the Thin Lady didn't wake, instead she mumbled something about Hippogriff's stealing all the food.

"HEY!" Bellatrix shouted, giving the Thin Lady a little shake in her portrait. This apparently, was too much and the Thin Lady flumped off of her chair and onto the floor in a great heap of pink material.

"How Rude!" She proclaimed! "Don't you know better than to wake someone up?"

"Yes, yes I'm sorry!" Bellatrix replied, irritated, "I need to speak with my cousin, is he awake yet?"  
The Thin lady had now regained her usually position atop her chair, however she still looked highly annoyed, "maybe he has, maybe he hasn't, maybe I don't like people who shake me awake!" she huffed.

"Look I'm sorry can you please just.."

"Oh for god sake!" the Thin lady cut her off, clearly still fuming, "if I find him will you leave me alone!?" she threatened.

"yes, but-" however the Thin lady had already left her portrait, and Bellatrix stood there waiting, listening to a few old men, playing a game of cards between portraits, whisper about how often she and Sirius had been seen together recently.

"He's my cousin!" she interjected into their conversation, both of whom looked startled, and as a result, dropped their whole pack of cards, scattering them between several portraits of Giraffes, who hastily began to nibble on them, grunting in pleasure.

"Nosey old blighters!" she mumbled to herself.

Within a few moments the Thin Lady returned. Bellatrix opened her mouth to ask about Sirius, when the Thin Lady swung open. Bellatrix took a few steps backwards and peered into the dark, concealed corridor, to see Sirius waltzing lazily through, still wearing his Gryffindor dressing gown.

"What is it now cousin?" he yawned, his eyes half shut.

"Ermm well….." Suddenly Bellatrix found it hard to breath and her eyes began to sting. Embarrassed, she covered her eyes with her silky smooth hands and sobbed.  
Sirius, seeing his cousin in this state, quickly woke himself up with a shake and took his dressing gown off and chucked it back through the tunnel. He stood tall and gangly in his knitted red and yellow jumper, which Mrs. Potter had made him last Christmas. His thick, greasy hair was now shoulder length, and he still looked very tired, considering he had had more sleep in one night, than Bellatrix had had all week.

"Not this again cousin." he looked around, trying to think of somewhere they could go without being disturbed. However, the Thin Lady slammed her portrait shut, knocking Sirius to the side cutting his thoughts short, as he hastily tried to regain his balance.

"OIY! Do you mind?!" he blurted out.

"Yes! Actually I do there's a nasty draft on my behind and I'd rather SHE didn't see into the Common room!" She retorted, pointing at Bellatrix and her green and silver crest stitched on her tie.

Sirius unable to respond, simply took Bellatrix by the arm and led her down the stairs.

As they walked through the castle neither of the pair said a word. The castle was beginning to come to life a little more with each step they took. Mumbling voices and footsteps of students, teachers, and ghosts waking up and heading towards the great hall for breakfast, could be heard echoing off the grand walls.

They finally came to a stop at the edge of the dark forest. Although it was forbidden to all students, Bellatrix had never been afraid of the creatures within. Instead she had felt much more at peace amongst the darkness and the horrors enclosed, than she did inside the walls of the castle.

The castle, to her, was more of a contained area, a ruled zone. A prison. However the forest was freedom. A place where Bellatrix could make as many mistakes as she liked without the torment of being ridiculed afterwards.

"Right so come on now cousin. What's all….What's ermm…well, what's wrong?" Sirius had never been great with words but Bellatrix could feel his calming energy dripping into her, and she felt much better than she had a few moments ago.

"Well. It's Tom" she began.

"Oh its always him!" Sirius retorted, "I've told you time and time again, leave him. He's not good for you. He's not good at all for that matter!"

"He is good!" Bellatrix shouted, she could feel her temper rising. She knew Tom. "He's just…unwell at the.."

"Unwell! Are you having a laugh!?" Sirius began pacing through the tree lines apparently unaware that the forest was enveloping them in a thick fog. As a result, Bellatrix now had to break into a few strides of a jog to keep up.

" I don't think you understand Sirius! There's more to him than you think!" as she said this she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a stop.  
"look at me!" she squealed.

Alarmed, Sirius stopped abruptly. There was a brief pause between them. Neither said a word. Bellatrix looked and felt as though she was about to break down at any second, her dark brown eyes swimming as tears began to fill them.

"Is there something you haven't told me cousin?" Sirius said questioningly, just above a whisper.

Bellatrix opened her mouth to reply but then they heard a noise. It was the familiar sound, of footsteps, coming from a little way ahead of their view in the fog. Whatever or whoever it was however, had had the advantage for some time now. For they would have overheard Bellatrix and Sirius' conversation while they had been completely unaware of their follower.

They both froze. Listening intently for any indication of where it was. Bellatrix and Sirius both drew out their wands instinctively from their pockets. Sirius glanced down at his cousin, she was no longer teary eyed and trembling, she was now looking much stronger. More powerful. More alive.

Bellatrixes mind began to race to who their follower could be. Could it be Tom, had he heard what they had been saying? Even worse could it be Crabbe or McNair or both? What if they had followed her in an effort to gain more trust with Tom?

*Snap! Somewhere ahead of her she could hear whoever, or whatever, it was moving slowly, just a little way ahead of her and Sirius. She listened. The rustling of dead leaves being crushed underfoot was so faint it was barely detectable but Bellatrix was certain she knew where their stalker was.

She could hear no other sound apart from her own deep, slow breaths. She felt a faint smile etch across her face. She was pleased. She had the upper hand now, as much as their follower did with them. An excitement built inside her and she raised her curved wand carefully, and pointed.

"EXPELIARMUS!" she yelled.

A flash of brilliant blue light shot from the tip of her wand. There was a cry of surprise followed quickly by a solitary thud! Her spell had found her target.

"Nice shot cousin!" exclaimed Sirius as he walked past her, tapping her on the shoulder. His dark silhouette disappeared briefly into the fog, however his footsteps were loud and obvious, so Bellatrix was not worried and she followed closely behind.

As she caught up with Sirius she saw he was knelt over an unconscious body lying limply on the floor. Unable to see who it was she stepped forward towards the victims face and peered at it.

"James…." Bellatrix gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. The tall muscular form of a well-built teenager lay quite still upon the hard ground. His eyes were shut, his mouth agape. The only indication of life was his chest calmly rising and lowering again. "But I…I thought…I didn't" She muttered breathlessly.


	2. Chapter 2

The Robin

"James…." Bellatrix gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. The tall muscular form of a well-built teenager lay quite still upon the hard ground. His eyes were shut, his mouth agape. The only indication of life was his chest calmly rising and lowering again. "But I…I thought…I didn't" She muttered breathlessly.

"He's fine." Sirius smiled, and he got to his feet. "Stupid idiot probably thought it would be funny to sneak up on us or something."

Seeing his cousin's worried expression he quickly added, "you only hit him with a small disarming charm, he'll come around soon."  
Still stunned, Bellatrix looked around encase any other of Sirius' friends had followed them before continuing.

"Tom is.."

"A jerk!" Sirius interrupted a smug grin across his face as he watched Bellatrix, her eyes widened as she bit her tongue in an attempt to refrain from cursing.

"Are you going to listen or not?!" she snapped.

"Yes, but hurry up, I'm starving!" a low grumble could be heard issuing from Sirius' stomach, he smiled half-heartedly waving his hand in a gesture for her to continue.

Bellatrix sighed deeply, and put a lock of her black, curled hair behind her ear, that had fallen out of place and had covered part of her exquisitely pale, pretty face.

"Tom has been acting rather strange lately-I presume you heard about the Howler father had sent me?" she waited for Sirius to nod in response before proceeding. "Well of course you did-apparently the whole school now knows about my soon-to-be-marriage to Lestrange!" her breathing quickened slightly, her hands subconsciously became tight fists, and she felt her chest rise and fall under her perfectly crisp school shirt. If you had seen her, you would not have believed that she had not changed it for three days.

"I asked Tom to help me" she spoke much more sternly than she had first intended but the tone matched her mood and she would have continued had Sirius not looked so shocked.

"What are you gawping at; don't look at me like that! Tom is my last hope of breaking out of this nightmare!" she spat, displacing several more black twirls of perfect hair from their place, which she was less quick to put back. A wild look was now developing in her eyes.

"I'm your cousin and you couldn't have come to me!?" Sirius' voice sounded wounded by her comment, as if she had inflicted an invisible wound on him. However, ignoring his comment, she continued in the same harsh tone, her frustration building at each interruption.

"Not unless you intended to marry me!" She blurted out. Sirius looked like he had an answer but upon noticing that Bellatrix had now gained a strange crazed look about her, with more curls loosing their place, and her head now resembling something of a black tangled spider. He decided not to risk the comment.

"I asked Tom to help me." She repeated, "but he told me he couldn't and that he would never run away…." Her voice began to break, a lump was beginning to form at the base of her throat, "he told me to protect my families blood line…That … That I would be a coward not to go ahead with it" she trailed off, her ears ringing from the controlled temper within.

There was a slight pause but Sirius encouraged her on, "what did you say to him?"

Sounding slightly chocked, Bellatrix resumed, crumpling her shirtsleeves in her hands as she did so.

"I told him I didn't understand. That if he loved me like I love him he wouldn't hurt me like this" she sniffed loudly "and then he walked off…told me he had more urgent things to deal with apart from how I was just looking for an escape!"

She looked directly into Sirius' dark eyes. She was no longer hurt but Tom's words, she was furious.  
How dare he walk away. How dare he laugh at her expense. How dare he even think he is better than she, a pureblood, when 'the great Tom Riddle' had a muggle father.

She was almost repulsed by her sudden thoughts and without realizing, she had torn her shirt from the cuff to the collar in one jerky, twisting hand movement.  
Sirius looked as though he was pondering what to say next. An alarmed expression had evidently flashed across his face as Bellatrix had ripped her sleeve, leaving an awkward few moments between them.

"Cousin" he paused again, walking towards her and taking her hands softly, giving them a small squeeze of reassurance. "Try to calm down."

Realizing she was shaking, Bellatrix tried to calm herself for a few moments and then looked up at Sirius' slightly paler than normal expression.

"I think….I think Tom is a nasty piece of work Cousin" feeling Bellatrix tense in his hands he squeezed her again, "no let me finish." She relaxed, but only just.

"I think Tom Riddle is no good for you or for anyone. He clearly has some…..Issues….. He's just been hurting you over and over again. Can you not see that inside he's just with you for the control, maybe.." He debated his next thought briefly but said it anyway, "maybe he's only with you for the power."

Bellatrix, a little confused, pushed away from Sirius' grip taking a few steps back. Which was almost too much as the fog had become much thicker and Sirius had become little more than an outline now.

"What do you mean, the control or power or whatever?" She could hear her own unease in her voice and she tried to perk herself up a bit, by swaying on the spot. Her knee-length quilted skirt flapping gently against her legs.

She watched as Sirius' outline took a few steps around her. She could hear his heavy footsteps crunch dead twigs and crumple the dry leaves beneath them as he meandered on. She saw his arm scratch his thick, furrowed head of hair and could hear his every breath.

"Has it never occurred to you cousin that Tom is a little…controlling?" He uttered.

He had said it. The one thing Bellatrix had indeed began to question.

It had in fact, crossed her mind many times. In actuality almost every night, when she would sit and watch the Mermaids and the Grendilose have underwater dueling matches, which resulted in the looser becoming a snack for the victor and his spectators.

However the truth remained. Tom was very controlling. Bellatrix had simply overlooked this fact in the past but only because she felt he was only looking for attention. 'Its….My way of impressing you..' She recalled Tom saying when she had doubted his actions in the past.

"He's just showing off!" She half smiled, flashing a few of her brilliantly white teeth, thinking that she now had the edge in the dispute. "It's his nature. Its how he, "impresses" people".

"People like you?" came Sirius' composed reply from behind her.

She had not noticed him walk around her and so she whirled on the spot to find him now completely pressed up against her. Towering a good head taller than her now.

He had obviously grown in the summer and she had only just realized this having never taken into account his full, tall stature.

"Yes" she said sharply, "of course he wants to impress me…he told me so himself…he needs me.." the words had slipped right off of her tongue and she hadn't even thought about it.

She gasped and clapped her wand free hand to her mouth in a feeble effort to prevent saying anything else that could possibly put her into a worse position in their current discussion.

She watched as Sirius' lips thinned into a perfect glowing red smile. She had answered his question.

Smugly, Sirius took another few steps towards her, backing her away until her back hit a knotted tree, which dug into her skin. She winced.

"You see cousin!" he was now completely at ease and stood proudly in front of her, hands behind his back. "He needs you and why is that?"

Not fooled, Bellatrix said nothing.

"He needs you because you are strong, powerful, beautiful, and above everything else, you are loyal to him!" he pointed into the fog, there was nothing there of course but Bellatrix could see he had simply done so for dramatic affect.

"I'm loyal to thoughs who love me!" another slip of the tongue and Bellatrix could now feel anxiety bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She was loosing control but she held her ground, her back still against the tree, and couldn't help but smile, slightly surprised at Sirius' complements.

"Andromeda loves you." Came a solemn but croaked voice from the mist.

James had woken up and had been listening to their conversation, yet again, but for how long Bellatrix didn't know.

"She loves the muggle-born! And don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop, Potter!"

She felt rather stupid. As far as she could tell she was yelling at nothing more than a white wall. Her hand slowly turning her wand in it.

"What are you going to do hex me again!?" James protested.

"Enough James!" Sirius had turned on the spot in front of Bellatrix.

She had never heard him speak to his best friend like that before, and a small flicker of pleasure arose inside her and she hissed, as her smile grew wider across her face.

She listened to their conversation intently. They had moved a little way away from her but she could still hear glimpses of their now heated discussion.

"She can't hate Andromeda over Tonks when her own bloody boyfriend is a half anyway!" James' voice was cracked and wavered in pitches; Bellatrix thought her disarming charm must have hit him in the throat.

"She's my cousin and why were you following us in the first place!" Sirius' voice came loud and clear, in fact Bellatrix could have sworn he was growling in some parts.

"I wasn't following you!"

"Oh yeah, what were you doing then, looking for Lilly?"

Bellatrix listened but they were now moving away at a potential jog and Bellatrix found herself having to run in places to be close enough to hear them, but as far away so they couldn't see her trough the fog.

Unable to see where she was putting her feet, she felt several scratches from thorns and weeds tug and rip her tights and skirt. She could feel her hair unraveling more and more; great curling chunks were now falling across her face and back. She suddenly thought that if anyone could see this, they probably would have mistaken her for a banshee. Finally she caught up with the pair and continued listening.

"You know what Tom has done don't you Sirius!?" James had clearly regained much of his voice now as it too was deeper and Bellatrix found herself concentrating to a point where her brow was beginning to ache from trying to distinguish who was saying what.

"Yes I know that James. I was with you, remember!?"

"Then your no good cousin probably knows some background information!"

"Do you mind!" Sirius said with a tone of sarcasm. "If you hadn't been so nosey and interrupted our conversation, I may have been able to find out if she knows anything at all!"

"Of course she would know something she was there! Wormtail said he had seen her with him."

Confused and her stomach boiling from listening to her cousin and his best friend makes such remarks towards Tom and herself, Bellatrix tried to continue listening, questions erupting into her head.

'What had Tom done?-did she know about it?-if it was something she knew then James, Wormtail and Sirius had both seen-and if she had been there. What if it was something embarrassing?'

She tried to keep images flashing before her mind, of the time she and Tom had attempted to use the prefects bathroom, only to later find the door had been unlocked while they were in there. Tom had not spoken to her for days after that. He was certain she had tricked him and simply done it so her friends could see that she wasn't lying about the two of them. The familiar ache to her stomach returned inside her, which brought her concentration back to the present conversation.

"Wormtail's word is nothing to go by these days anyway. Personally he's becoming more rat than man if you ask me" Sirius' tone of voice was now much lighter and jokey. The conversation had clearly moved on quite a bit and she could hear James imitating a rat squeak, followed by the two of them laughing.

"Right then ill see you later anyway, I'm going up to the castle for some breakfast with ole' wormy" James chuckled, his voice and footsteps disappearing.

"Mooney not back yet!?" Sirius shouted after him.

"Hospital wing!" came a faint cry in reply.

"Save me a seat!" Sirius yelled, but Bellatrix could not hear the response.

She didn't even wait for her cousin to turn around and try to find her. She turned on the spot and ran straight towards the castle, avoiding several trees' that kept appearing suddenly from the fog.

She tripped several times on hidden roots and noticed for the first time, that in her anger, confusion and frustration at what she had just overheard, her wand was shooting tiny red and green sparks from its tip.

She stopped abruptly at the edge of the forest.  
The fog had now thinned a great deal and the autumn sunlight was breaking through. Bellatrix couldn't tell whether she was wincing from the light or from her own fury but still she observed her wand.

It appeared to be feeding off of her own emotions, with each spark she felt a release, like a pressure gage, each spark helped her to relax a little more, she began to calm down.

In her excitement of discovering this, she did something she had never done before and she pointed it at a Robin, tweeting merrily, just above her in the trees. It stared back and there was a brief moment of realization in the birds' eyes as it understood what was about to happen.

There was a green flash and the bird dropped down dead.


	3. Chapter 3

The Slytherin common room was decisively empty for a Saturday morning; never the less Bellatrix couldn't help but feel relaxed by this sobering fact. She hurriedly walked across the green and silver room towards a high back chair in front of the gargoyle stone fireplace.

She glanced around the room again over each shoulder. She could see that the common room was quite deserted aside from her, but couldn't dislodge the feeling of being watched.

Her cheeks were still flushed from running all the way from the forest, through the Great Hall- completely unaware of the many faces happily eating breakfast, turning to watch her run past in a frenzied panic. Down several flights of mossy stairs towards the dungeons and only having to briefly pause to give the password to the Slytherin portrait. "Blood-traitor..." she gasped. Before flinging herself into the common room entrance.

Still shaking from the day's already rather dramatic events, she reached into her left skirt pocket and emptied the contents onto the black twisted coffee table in front of her.

There were many leaves and twigs that she had unwillingly collected, most likely from passing through several brambles and branches earlier in the forest. However, among them was a collection of bright amber and hazel feathers. Leaning down towards it so as to observe the object more closely, Bellatrix blew softly so that the leaves surrounding it dissipated across the furniture, to reveal the tiny delicate little robin.

She stared at the life-less little body in front of her. Its dainty scaled legs were stock stiff, still in the shape of grasping onto the branch from which it fell. Its beak and eyes were agape, as if it were about to sing, but its black soulless eyes showed no signs of life.

Bellatrix continued to stare blankly at the tiny figure lying across the table top. She tried to think about what she had done, about what she was feeling. "_I didn't mean to do that...It was an accident...maybe its playing...no...I did this."_ Her thoughts were decidedly calm. While she was running away from the scene she had felt sick, her whole body had been trembling uncontrollably, her legs had felt as though they would have given way underneath her before she reached the common room.

Now however, Bellatrix could feel nothing, she had become completely numb. Perhaps she was having some sort of outer-body-experience. She had recently studied these experiences in Divination, but unfortunately had been unsuccessful at actually managing to spiritually detach herself from her own body, so knew very little about how it should really feel. The only one in the class who had managed this, first time, was in fact, Tom.

"What have you got there, Bella?" The cold steady voice from behind her brought Bellatrixes thoughts crashing back to the reality of the situation. She wheeled around in the chair to look over her shoulder, to find Tom Riddle standing casually in the shadows, leaning against the lake window.

"What?...How long have you been standing there Tom!" Bellatrix stammered, she stood up and tried to block the bird on the table from view.

"How did you do that?" His voice was deep and relaxed as he gestured to her torn sleeve. She instinctively reached for it, but was unable to take her eyes off the dark handsome figure as he began to walk towards her in an almost nonchalant fashion.

She watched his brown eyes scan her all over, going from her torn sleeve down to her skirt and ripped tights and slowly travelling back up to meet her eyes. He smirked, flashing his pure white teeth but he continued to hold their gaze. Bellatrix found herself staring blankly back, unable to look away; she was transfixed, like a mouse staring into the eyes of a snake before the attack.

"Are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me guess?" his voice sent shivers down her spine, the familiar feeling of weakness in her legs returned and she realised she was blushing. The heat rising in her cheeks and she turned away to look at the remaining embers in the fire.

"Oh erm, it got caught." She fumbled with her sleeve and went to reach for her wand, which was usually in her skirt pocket, only to find the pocket empty.

"Is this what you're looking for?" she didn't even need to turn around to know that Tom was smiling. As she looked at him he held out her wand and she outstretched her hand to retrieve it. Tom had been one of the first students to master unspoken spells.

"Give me my wand, you shouldn't steal" she took a step towards him around the chair.

"I didn't steal it, I have every intention of giving it back" his voice was coy; he was playing a mind game with her she thought. His flicked a lock of his jet black hair out of his eyes with her wand and took a few steps away as she feebly attempted to snatch it from him. "Now now Bella, play nicely" he teased, wagging his finger at her, "I'll give you back your wand, once you tell me what the hell a dead bird is doing on the Slytherin coffee table." He pointed behind Bellatrix with the wand.

She was becoming more and more flustered and embarrassed with the entire situation. Flustered because she felt as if everything was happening so fast and Toms questions were becoming one too many. Embarrassed because she felt how she looked, a mess, and she always wanted to please Tom he had a way of making her feel different. It was as if he had a certain control over her, and she liked it.

"I don't have to tell you anything, the bird is ...a...errr...potions...ermmm" she tried to think of the word but she had caught Tom looking at her and lost her train of thought.

"Ingredient?" he answered for her, his voice sounding distant and vague, but he was not longer looking at her. Instead he was admiring her wand, twiddling it between his fingers.

"Yes ingredient!" she spoke as she walked towards him putting out her hand again for the wand. Tom had seen her move and strode backwards incredibly elegantly considering the speed of his steps. He laughed as Bellatrix halted a look of annoyance etched across her face.

"Giving up so easily Bella, not a good trait for a Slytherin" he mocked.

"I'm tired Tom, please, give me my wand" she felt as though she was begging for it, and he was making her.

"Tell me about the bird first" he demanded, a much more sinister tone was now present in his voice, it was a tone he used when they had argued previously, and Bellatrix had never found anything more unnerving. He was now striding over towards her, she stumbled backwards until she was against the arching back of the chair and he was standing a few inches away from her face.

She could feel his breath tickle and caress her skin. His every movement seemed to reach her without him even touching her and she found herself feeling incredibly vulnerable and nerves began to spread their way up her body.

"I...I..." she tried to formulated her words but couldn't.

"You killed that didn't you" he said knowingly, a slow smile spreading across his face, Bellatrix was unable to look away from his ever enchanting eyes. She wanted more than anything for him to stop talking and kiss her. She glanced from his penetrating gaze to his thinned smirking lips, she even found herself half shutting her own eyes and without realising she was leaning into him, closing the distance between them.

She watched him stare back, he was still holding his beautiful smile and then she watched him lean in towards her. Her heart was pounding so fast she could hear every beat, it felt as though it was going to burst through her chest, she felt his warm breath slowly sweep past her neck. She felt a hand touch her back and pull her closer, electrifying waves coursed through her. She closed her eyes and waited. Waited for his lips to touch hers they way she had dreamed, had imagined, had felt. Still she waited each second took every ounce of her control to not leap into him, to find his soft lips for herself.

Then his cheek brushed hers. She opened her eyes suddenly feeling foolish, "I _must've looked like an idiot_" she thought, angry at herself. Tom let out a light chuckle in her ear, almost as though he had read her mind, but his hot breath still shook her body, sending shivers through her entire being. Then he whispered softly in her ear, his hand still holding her close to him, "how does it feel to be a killer?"

He had said it so softly she had hardly noticed what he had asked her. "I don't know..." she whispered. Tom's cheek was now touching hers as he slowly turned his head back to look into her eyes again. However his smile had disappeared and his hand had loosened its grip around Bellatrix.

He was easing away from her slowly at first, as if he was enjoying watching her disappointed reaction. '_He must know how much this hurts_' she thought, as he turned away from her completely and was now walking towards the common room exit.

"What was..." she began but Tom had raised his hand in a dismissing manner at her.

"It feels good to kill doesn't it?" he spoke smoothly, as he spun around on the spot while walking to face her and then turn away again and continue walking.

"I don't understand..." she managed to regain a little of her self control and what felt like a part of her normality and she began striding towards him, her town shirt sleeve flailing around her. "What was all that!?" she demanded.

Tom whirled around to look at her, a look of shock and anger spreading through his expression. Bellatrix stopped however held her ground and made sure with all her remaining strength that she would not cry.

"What was what!?" he sounded surprisingly calm, it was almost eerie.

"You can't just do...THAT!" she gestured wildly throwing her arms up in the air.

"I can do whatever_ I_ please!" he sounded much harsher than before, a cruel hiss now present in his words. "You know what I think Bellatrix?" Tom had never called her that since they had known each other, and hearing her own name from his mouth made her feel like a child being told off by a parent. She felt hugely immature all of a sudden and found herself lost for words. She stood there completely frozen.

"I think you lost control today. You killed because you couldn't stop yourself. You were angry. That bird lies there because you had a tantrum!" his voice was not raised but the anger that surged behind every word shuddered through Bellatrix like thunder. However she found herself getting stronger, the lack of control was spurring on her bravery to argue.

"I am not a child! I was angry because of you, this is your fault!" she spat, "I killed the bird because I could! A certain boastful tone now emanated from her.

"You killed because it made you feel better!" he bellowed above her.

The astonishing truth in his words knocked Bellatrix a back, she searched for an answer but couldn't find one. Instead she glimpsed her wand that was still in Toms hand and outstretched her own and thought "_Accio wand_". Amazingly it flew out of Toms grasp, with a high pitched whistle as it rushed through the air and into her hand. She caught it and laughed, amazed at her own capability.

She half expected Tom to look afraid, if anything surprised or even impressed, but instead when she looked at him, he showed no emotion. His hands were now inside his robes and he was staring at her blankly, almost unimpressed, even bored.

"You'll be useful in the future to me Bella, I know that much" He sighed as he turned on his heel and waltzed through the portrait whole and out of sight. Leaving Bellatrix, alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Bellatrix watched the Slytherin common room entrance swing shut for a long while Bellatrix continued standing in the common room alone, before realising that Tom would not be coming back no matter how hard she wished.

She decided to clean away the little robin, leaves and other forest debris and managed it all in one handful and threw it all onto the smoky embers of the fire and muttered, "Incendio", causing a ripple of flaming waves to emanate from her wand tip, disintegrating everything to ashes.

After she was sure no one had seen her and all traces of the tiny bird were completely destroyed, she left the common room and decided to tend to her grumbling stomach.

By the time she reached the Great hall, most of the breakfast was over and only professor Dippet, who was munching on some rather green looking toast and a Slytherin boy at the far end of the long table, remained. The Slytherin student was hidden behind the familiar wizarding newspaper, The Daily Prophet. The only part of him which was visible over the paper was a mass of silky black hair.

She waltzed up to the unsuspecting student, grabbing a bowl of porridge on the way and plunked down opposite him, and stared at the headline, "Muggle Family Murdered by Wizard Mad Man." Underneath it was a moving photograph of two ministry officials observing three shapeless forms concealed under a white sheet.

Before she could observe anymore the newspaper folded in half, revealing a lanky pale boy staring back.

"Alright there Black?" he asked coldly.

"Just reading your paper Severus" she shrugged.

"I could see that" he said.

"When…when did that come in?" she asked trying to sound as casual as possible.

"S'morning- they reckon some wizard who lives in a hut near the estate killed them all, confessed to the whole thing. Complete nutter if you ask me." He spoke a little softer but still kept his eyes fixed on her, he didn't blink, and in fact Bellatrix noticed he barely moved.

"Why are you staring at me like that!?...S'nnoying!" she spoke through a rather large mouthful of hot porridge, as she tried to ignore the feeling of unease building inside her.  
Severus seemed to have been jolted from his trance and pulled a worn out copy of _'Standard Book of Spells for 6__th__ Years and Above'_ from under the table. He flicked through a few pages and stopped on a one with a folded corner, his eyes scrolled down the page until he found what it was he was searching for.

"A-Ha! Here it is! See this?" he leaned forward and pointed out a small paragraph he'd underlined in black ink. "Read it, I'm just testing it now, but I don't think I've cracked it yet, but I'm close. Just wait till I do too, Potter and that lot won't stand a chance!" he boasted, more to himself than to Bellatrix. Nevertheless she took the book in one hand and another mouthful of porridge with the other and read;  
_"Legimancy, A wizard's most powerful weapon when attempting to find out secret, suppressed or necessary advisories or enemies memories and or knowledge."_  
Her expression must've resembled something of a goldfish as she finished reading it for the fourth time as Severus took the book back with a slightly annoyed sighed.

"It's about reading minds Bells" he chuckled as he read on further.

"I got that much, I just don't see why you need to use it, and on who?" she tapped her empty bowl with her spoon and it instantly refilled to the brim with more steaming hot porridge. She beamed and began to munch away happily.

"On Potter and his friends! Weren't you listening?" she glanced up from her bowl to look at him, he was staring at her again.

"Oh stop it Severus! Not in the mood to have my mind read, thank you very much!" she said looking at her porridge and remembering the robin, and the headline on the newspaper_. 'Who was the mad man who had killed the muggles? The muggles who had the same last name as Tom….That must just be a coincidence….yes he wouldn't kill, would he?'_ she thought, but then she remembered his patronising words from this morning _"It feels good to kill doesn't it?" _she suddenly felt sick and pushed away her bowl_. "What if he had, and just tricked the mad man into believing he had actually committed the crime?"_ her thoughts rambled on so she shook her head in an attempt to distract herself.

"Why's that then, got something to hide have we?" Severus said slyly, a small grimace spreading across his lips.

"Will you stop it!" Bellatrix rasped through gritted teeth so as not to alert Professor Dippet who was now summoning up a salt pot from the far end of the staff table. Looking back to Severus she saw he was still smirking so she picked up the nearest thing to her, a lump of crispy toast, and threw it at his head. Severus swerved to the side, narrowly dodging it.

"OIY!"he retaliated playfully, throwing his napkin and hitting Bellatrix square on the forehead. As Bellatrix reached across the table and had just begun to ready her aim of a Hash Brown catapult she heard it.

"AHEM!" a croaking voice broke all focus and had emanated from the staff table. Bellatrix and Severus turned their heads very slowly to see Professor Dippet holding the salt pot in his hand, and wearing his usual Royal navy and gold laced robes, staring back at them, with one of his white wispy eyebrows raised disapprovingly. "I think, if you have quite finished your food throwing hobby, then perhaps your activities might be better placed outside, Miss Black, Snape."

Bellatrix could feel her cheeks blush with a surge of warmth spreading through them, and she nodded to the professor, however as she turned back to look at Severus she was almost certain she had seen Dippet smile. Glancing at Severus she saw his expression, which looked like he was fighting a laugh and she couldn't help but grin widely at him.

"C'mon lets go" he suggested, stifling a laugh as he gathered up his spells book and newspaper.

"Fine" replied Bellatrix a little annoyed at being told off, "but I'm not going anywhere public!" she huffed.

"Dungeons then?" He suggested, standing up.

"What, back to the common room? No way!" she said, getting to her feet.

"Well no I meant a potions classroom, no one's ever in there, except for class."

"Yeah ok fine, you sure we're allowed though?" Bellatrix looked over her shoulder to see if Professor Dippet was still watching them, however was met by an empty staff table, Dippet had completely vanished.

"Yeah of course, sixth years privilege, as long as we don't blow up the place should be fine."

When the two of them finally reached the dungeon walkway, Severus held out his hand to stop Bellatrix in her tracks and took her by the hand.

She didn't refuse. She allowed him to lead her through the wooden door into the dark room behind. She couldn't see a thing but held onto his hand tightly, while holding out her free hand for guidance.

"Some light would be nice Sev!" she heard him chuckle beside her and she felt his hand squeeze hers. She didn't feel the electric tingling or the butterflies in her stomach that she normally felt when she was around Tom. She didn't have time to linger on whether or not she felt something for Severus, if anything at all, she was too busy trying to work out which potions room she was in.

The smell of damp and stagnant water filled her nose as she followed Severus cautiously to what must have been the front of the class room. It was then that he let go. His rough fingers slipping away from hers, she listened to his footsteps as he moved around the room.

"Can you see in the dark or something!" she called sarcastically, and she began fumbling for her wand in her skirt pocket and pulled it out. "Lumos!", a great ball of white light burst from its end, Severus was beside a candle chandelier and looked poised as though he was about to light it with his own wand.

"Incendio" he whispered and the candles all around the room simultaneously erupted into golden flames filling the dark room with an orange glow. It was then that Bellatrix saw the cauldron on the front desk beside her, contained something that was bubbling, when she looked inside it what she saw was a violently pink thick gloopy looking liquid. It shined so perfectly in the room that she almost thought it was glowing. She sniffed. She could smell, fresh rain, the sea, ink and wine, everything that attracted her, she was drawn to the potion like a moth to light.

"That's Amortencia in there." Bellatrix glanced up, her trance from the potion broken and she looked at Severus curiously, but her mind still felt as though it was elsewhere. Severus walked over a sense of power in his stride, the potions labs were always his strong point, and he pointed his wand toward to cauldron and flicked it. Instantly a blue and silver flame engulfed its base and the liquid bubbled and gurgled turning a shade of deep violet.

"What's errr...what's Amore...Mortenici-thingy" she babbled still watching the molten mass in the cauldron.

"Amortencia and it's a love potion, one of my own recipes'" he said coolly but a sense of pride protruding from his smile.

"Really?! A love potion, does it work?" she began to feel excited, if anything, she felt mischievous, '_would this potion work on Tom_?' her head began to fill with numerous ideas, of ways she could persuade Tom to drink something that colourful.

"You know it's not real love, don't you?" Bellatrix's thoughts were interrupted by Severus' voice echoing off the walls, "Plus normally it wears off after two or three days max." Bellatrix stared at Severus, his black shiny hair glistening in the light; he rolled up his shirt sleeves while eyeing her suspiciously. _'Who cares how long it lasts'_ she thought_, 'I can just top Tom up with a dose when it starts to wear off!'_ her mind was still brimming with ideas.

"Ermm also..." Severus spoke only this time much more hesitantly.

"Oh what now?!" she snapped, annoyed yet again at her thoughts being interrupted.

"I just haven't finished testing it yet..."

"You what?" Bellatrix couldn't help but feel irritated by his lack of information when needed.

"Well, I've tried it on a few Hinkypunks" he spoke as he bent down to pick up a rattling cage from underneath the front desk; it was covered by an oak coloured cloth.

"What on earth is..." she was silenced by the cage rattling violently under its cover, and she eyed Severus as he placed it on the stone floor in front of them, it was still shaking side to side.

"You see I had to test it on two subjects, so both of them." He continued slowly, studying the cage.

"Yeah, yeah I get it, you needed one to fall for the other ok yeah got it."

"Well kind of, you see Hinkypunks don't really like flirting, so if one of them isn't you know, 'in the mood' then the uninterested one ermm.." He paused looking at the still rattling cage, but Bellatrix now felt a defiant need to know about the potion, to know if it worked, and if it did then...but she would think about that later right now she had to know everything Severus knew about how it worked.

"So you gave it to both Hinkypunks rather than just the one..." she said, trying to sound as encouraging as possible to Severus.

"Yes a little to both, and I then I just, well left them to it." He shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the storeroom cupboard at the back of the room and pulled out yet another cauldron and a few empty vials.

"Wait so it worked?" She gasped excitedly as she stared at the grumbling cage as it rocked from side to side. "Hang on are they...in there..." she pointed at the cage.

"yes." Replied Severus without looking at her.

"So all that rattling is...them" and she made a rude hand gesture towards it, while trying not to laugh encase she disturbed the covered creatures.

Severus looked up, "oh, OH! Oh no, no, no! They have, or rather they did for the first few weeks, non-stop...but I think they wore each other out…..the noise was horrendous!" he replied in a repulsed tone.

"A few weeks!?" Bellatrix sounded more confused than she had hoped to but continued, "but you said it lasted for 3 days max a second ago" she now thought she sounded less than convinced and Severus appeared to have noticed this.

"Yes but that's the normal duration for the package stuff. No. I gave the Hinkies my own recipe, hence the added duration."

"So...so how long does yours last?" Bellatrix tried to contain her butterflies of excitement brewing inside her by bouncing on the spot.

"Well...that's the thing. It's yet to actually end on the Hinkies, so I don't know yet, hence why it's still going through the testing phase." Severus had now covered his dark eyes with emerald green goggles and had put on what looked like an ordinary white apron but across the side Bellatrix noticed the 'Dragon hide' logo.

"When did you put it on them?" Bellatrix was now ebbing closer to the cage; she was desperate to see how the Hinkypunks had been affected.

"I gave them the dose about….a year ago" he said.

"A whole year!" Bellatrix gasped staring at Severus, "That's amazing Sev!"

"I know" he replied, almost sounding bored with the conversation now, Bellatrix watched him as he reached inside a small satchel beside him and pull out what she thought were very long rats tails, and plonking them into the cauldron.

Bellatrix couldn't help but feel slightly elated by this news and she began scanning the room for an empty vial. A bucket would have been fine too!

"Planning to use it on Tom are we?" She froze, _'how did he..'_

"Everyone knows, it's really obvious, well you're really obvious anyway, Tom not so clear." She wheeled around on the spot to look directly into the emerald green goggled student who stared back at her.

"No! No I didn't know about how_ obvious_ I was! I had no clue how public we were!" she snapped, as the anger began to rush through her and she clamped her hands into tight fists.

"Well…. You can't", Severus removed his goggles and began walking towards her.

"Can't? Can't what?!" she yelled, the familiar tension and knots building in her stomach.

"Just sit down for a…"

"No! No I won't…." however the anger was subsiding fast and she felt her eyes begin to burn, "I just…" her lip was trembling and a lump appeared in her throat.

Severus stepped towards her slowly; he reached for her one of her still clenched fists. His hands were cold but calming and he began to unravel her dainty fingers. Bellatrix could feel for the first time, how rough his hands actually were from healed burns, caused by exposed flames and hot potions. It was then that she noticed Severus had placed his other hand around her waist, and it reminded her of Tom that morning. She looked into Severus' shining eyes. He was taller than her, but not by much and the corners of his lips were curved into an almost menacing smirk.

She noticed how fast she was breathing and felt panic ebb from her chest_, 'I don't want this. This is wrong, really wrong!'_ she began to think and try to look for an escape, an excuse. Her thoughts were churning now like her stomach; she tried to open her mouth to say _'Stop!_' but the lump in her throat stopped all noise escaping. Her eyes felt hot as fresh tears began blurring her vision.

She felt Severus' hand slide down her back to her belt around her skirt. She attempted feebly to step back but moving her legs felt impossible, her whole body was frozen. As if he had felt her tense, he pulled her closer to him. He broke his other hand away from hers and brushed her cheek with it while sweeping a few locks of her hair off of her face. She watched him. She felt repulsed. Every ounce of her being screamed for her to break free, but she was paralysed, she felt like she was stuck in cement.

"You don't need Tom, or Lestrange, run away with me." He had asked so softly and in such a deep voice that she suddenly felt as though he was Tom. Then she noticed him leaning in towards her, she felt his hand hold the back of her head, twirling his fingers in her tangled hair.

She couldn't pull away. She couldn't move. _'You must move! Don't be an idiot. Move. Now!'_ her voice resonated in her mind. _'Run away…. hang on did he really say that?_' her thoughts changed, and she relaxed. Had she finally been offered the escape she was looking for? Did Severus truly mean what he said, if so she would have given him anything for it to be true. However her thoughts came crashing back to reality as Severus' lips met hers with an almost intense force.

Her lips were crushed under the sloppy pressure, but she couldn't move her head away, his hand on her head made sure of that. Almost suffocating from lack of breath, her hands fumbled in her pocket to pull out her beautiful, smooth curved wand and she jabbed it into his ribs sending him flying backwards in a wave of red sparks and smoke.

He landed with a loud crash into several large stacks of potions books as tall as the ceiling, rolling limply around on the ground moaning for a few seconds, before staggering back to his feet, taking one look at Bellatrix, gathering his bag and leaving the room in a blurred hurry.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful in comparison to the mornings activities. Bellatrix spent much of her free time plotting how to get Tom to take her stolen vial of luminous pink love potion.

Perhaps she could put it into his pumpkin juice at lunch. However when she arrived at the Great Hall Saturday evening, Tom was nowhere in sight, instead she was met by a large cluster of Slytherin's gathered around Severus. She noticed a crimson red cloth covering his nose. Apparently their morning down in the potions lab was common knowledge and several Gryffindor's– mainly Sirius and his friends- applauded her.

As she attempted to leave Bellatrix found herself confronted by a trembling Hufflepuff first year, who looked up at her and squeaked, "Attacking a Slytherin! That's awesome, your awesome, wish I was as brave as you!" and he shook her hand before scarpering off back to his friends.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Bellatrix had decided to spend the rest of her weekend down in the library, mainly in the forbidden section, reading up about as many dark spells curses and jinxes as possible. She was fascinated by them. She was drawn to them. The power they wielded over their victims excited Bellatrix like no other subject she was taught. She had also hoped to catch a glimpse of Tom, as he too could often be found in the forbidden section. However on this occasion Bellatrix didn't hear or see him, even at breakfast and dinner the following Sunday evening.

That Monday was much like any other. She had potions first for which she managed to exceed all other students in the class with her _Verita Serum,_ truth telling potion. She stored some for later too; she knew that there would more than likely come a time when she could use it.

The afternoon however was not so successful, the Transfiguration class still seemed to remember her previous antics and many students still turned around to glance at her, smirking at their friends, before giggling to one another.

Once the lesson had ended Bellatrix fled back to the common room and dashed up the stairs into the girl's dormitory. As she flumped onto her satin green bed sheets she felt the tiny glass vial of love potion, (she had forgotten to take it out) tap against her leg from inside her pocket and her thoughts travelled back to any other possibilities of transferring it to Tom.

"_Maybe I could inject it into some of his Caramelized Mallow Fudge!?...Oh who am I kidding, why do I even bother!"_ she thought angrily in her head. She grabbed her pillow from her bed and screamed into it.

*Tap. Tap. Tap.* "What the?..." she glanced up, *Tap. Tap. Tap.* She looked at the window and saw a very stern Grey owl, pecking the window beside her bed. She leapt off the bed and flung open the window. The proud owl marched importantly through it and onto the floor and held out his left leg, giving a small hoot, signalling for Bellatrix to hurry up.

She knelt down beside the very large bird; its round amber eyes watched her sternly. She noticed that around its neck was a purple ribbon with an embroidered red 'M' on it. "You a ministry owl?" she asked, untying the small folded piece of parchment from around his leg. He gave a low hoot in response, and clicked his beak as Bellatrix tugged at the note, unbalancing him. "Oh flap off." She hushed. She began walking back to her bed, leaving the grey owl. As she began un-folding the note the owl gave a loud high pitched screech and Bellatrixes ears rang.

"What now!?" the owl opened his beak and hooted softly again. "Oh you're hungry, go to the Owlery, they have food there!" Bellatrix sat on her bed not noticing the birds eyes narrow as it watched her, before spreading its great wings and flapping through the window.

Bellatrix pondered over the rough parchment in her hand, running her fingers over the wax stamp in the shape of an 'M'. The Ministry of Magic's official seal. "_Why would the ministry want to contact me?" _she thought. She suddenly felt really nervous, what if she was in trouble. Then she remembered. _"I killed the Robin... Oh God they know they know I used an unforgivable curse, I'm so dead!"_ her hands were trembling but she had to know what was in the note and it read;

"_Dear Miss Black,  
It has come to the Ministry's attention that your pre-determined marriage to Mast Lestrange is less than ten months away and preparations for your summer nuptials have begun. During your Christmas holidays a ministry official from the department of Legal Binds and Family Ties, will visit you and your family accompanied by Master Lestrange to discuss your plans for this most exciting time. We hope that we find you well and you are enjoying your final year at Hogwarts. Sincerely,  
Borgus Bobourn."_

Bellatrix felt her heart sink. Out of everything that the letter could have contained, this was the last thing she had been expecting. In fact, it had contained the worst news possible.

Why wasn't the letter about her using the killing curse? Why didn't this letter say that she was expelled and was now being shipped to Azkaban!

Bellatrix starred at the letter, half hoping the words would magically rearrange themselves to say something along those lines. Nothing changed. This letter was a confirmation of her future, a life ahead of her already 'pre-determined' that she never wanted.

"_This is worse than going to Azkaban.."_ she thought, this letter was more of her own life sentence. A marriage to Lestrange, a man she had met twice before. One time at Hogwarts, the second time at a family ball. The Black Family Christmas Ball, a tradition her family had held for the most part of three hundred years.

A hole was appearing in her stomach now, it felt like a gapping pit, as though someone had just punched her and taken all the air from her body.

She dropped the parchment in a daze. She felt her pale hands shaking. She gasped violently for air. Again and again, until it became an uncontrollable pant. She felt waves of panic and fear rush through her body. Instinctively Bellatrix shut her eyes tightly. She reached out for her four poster bed, trying to stabilize herself. She opened her eyes to see the room spinning around her, and closed them again. Hot tears flooded down her white cheeks.

Then she felt her legs become weak, as if they had been turned to jelly, unable to stand any longer she began to fall to the floor- still gasping for breath. However the floor never reached her, there was no dull thud or pain as she collapsed to the ground. She opened her eyes slowly to see she was hovering, the floor inches from her head.

"It's alright. I've got you Bells. I've got you." The low, steady voice was right beside her ear. As she tried to turn her head she realised she was being held. A pair of strong arms was wrapped around her waist and chest. The two of them slowly lowered to the floor.

Bellatrix was still struggling to breath- the arms around her began to uncoil themselves, but she didn't want them to leave. She reached for them with her trembling hand to try and hold them in place.

"It's ok. I'm not going anywhere Bella." The figure moved around Bellatrixes dainty body so that they were now facing each other. Bellatrix sat up slowly.

"Tom!..." she gasped between pants.

"Don't speak; you're having a panic attack." He took hold of her hand and squeezed gently, "Just try to calm down, breath, Take control of your body." His voice was stern but Bellatrix was almost certain she could see the concern in his eyes.

"Bella you need to stop this...Just breath" he began to rub her arm slowly in an effort to calm her.

Bellatrix felt ashamed. Here she was having a fit over a little letter and what was worse was that Tom was watching her!

"_for god sake stop this-you look like a panting walrus!"_ her voice echoed in her head, she was frustrated with herself for acting so foolishly. She shut her eyes again tightly, attempting to make the words take control. _"Stop you idiot!"_ The fear inside her began to slowly ebb away, _"Stop! Take control. Stop, just breath!"_ using her thoughts she was now commanding herself.

She took a slow deep breath.

"There that's better, here you might need this" he pulled out a black and silver edged handkerchief and passed it into her hand.

"How do you feel now?" He asked, as Bellatrix wiped the tears from her face.

"Bit...Bit better...Thanks." she half smiled; she was still gasping randomly between breaths.

"Good, now what caused such terror in my Bella?" his usual uncaring tone was seeping through his words again. She felt incredibly weak but she nodded towards the letter still strewn on the floor.

Tom moved and snatched it up. Bellatrix watched as he unfolded it and his eyes scanned through the letter in mere seconds.

She watched his expression, hoping to be able to read any emotion that hinted towards care, even sympathy for her, but Tom showed nothing.

"This is what made you panic?!" Bellatrix stared blankly at him, " I mean really Bella this is easily solved."

"It is?" she asked sounding shocked.

"You stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, you don't go home. Simple. Problem solved. End of story." He spoke proudly as if the answer was so obvious Bellatrix had been foolish not to see it before.

"I suppose..." she began but her thoughts were telling her she was forgetting something.

"Now come on, I've got something I want to show you."

"Is that why you came into the Girls dormitory Tom?" she asked almost teasingly, "or is there something you're not telling me?" She gave Tom a sly smile as he helped her to her feet.

"I don't tell you a lot of things Bella" he was now returning the same mocking tone.

"If I didn't know better Tom, I'd say you were flirting with me." He placed his hands firmly on her waist and pulled her into him. His lips were now centimetres away from hers. She eyed them lustfully, before staring blissfully into his dark eyes.

"That's because I am." He smiled coyly at her, but his grip around her loosened and he took her by the hand.

She felt disappointed but pleased that he was now acting more like the old Tom.

"I want to show you something. Something that will change your whole perspective of me." His words were very stern now.

"Well what could..." she began

"You need to promise me that whatever it is I show you, you won't think any different of me?" His eyes were boring down into hers. He didn't blink and Bellatrix felt uncomfortable, she felt very exposed all of a sudden, as if he was looking into her very soul.

"I...I..." she tried to answer but was transfixed by his gaze.

"Swear you'll follow me?" his words were hasher now, more demanding as though her answer was the most important thing she could ever give.

Bellatrix knew she wanted to give Tom everything. She would give him everything. She was drawn to him, by a power she knew nothing about. All she knew was that she wanted Tom more than anything else and that she would do anything for him, to be with him, even just to be near him. It was then that she realised. She loved him.

"I swear. I will never leave you. I want nothing more than to follow you, serve you." The words had slipped from her lips, _"'serve you' what am I thinking?!"_ she hadn't even thought about that before now. However when she looked at Tom his eyes were shining. He was pleased, in fact this was the happiest she had ever seen him. So she didn't question it anymore.

"Come with me then." He led her by the arm out of the girl's dormitory.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Bellatrix woke with a jump, her heart was pounding, and adrenalin was coursing through her veins.

"Where am I?" she asked herself. She looked around but to no avail. It was pitch black. In the darkness she sat up. She felt around for her surroundings outstretching her arms in front of her.

Her fingers were met by soft material, a sheet that glided across her skin. "Am I?...I'm in bed." She twisted around to find a plump pillow where her had had been resting. "How did I get here?" she whispered.

She tried to remember what had happened that afternoon, but her thoughts were a complete jumble. The last thing she could remember was leaving the common room with Tom and then….Nothing…That was it. She couldn't remember what happened next.

"Did I pass out or something?" She instinctively reached for her head expecting to find a large golf ball shaped lump on her forehead.

"OUCH!" her right arm was agony; it burned and throbbed as she moved it. Squinting at it in the darkness she could just about make out the pale white of her long sleeved school shirt. Her arm twinged in pain as she gently rubbed her left hand over it, trying to feel for a lump or even blood from a wound; however she could feel nothing, only the burning sensation emanating from her arm.

She realised that she had to see whatever it was hurting her arm so much, and she began searching around in the darkness for her wand. Yet she had no idea where she was, let alone where her wand could be.

She had a rough idea that she was most likely back in the girl's dormitory, however she had never known the dorm to be so dark, but it felt a lot like her own bed. "If that's the case..." She thought, "then my bedside table should be right….Here!" she leaned over expecting to find the hard solid table top but was unfortunately met by only air.

She fell violently head-over-heels off the bed and onto a cold stone floor. She was not in the girls dormitory.

Instantly the room was doused in bright yellow light from above. Bellatrix felt her eyes sting and she squinted around the room. The light had come from a gigantic chandelier with over a hundred candles all blazing brilliantly.

"What the Devil is going on!?" A deep growling voice echoed off the walls in the chamber.

Looking around some more Bellatrix could see an array of black, gold and green beds and hammocks strewn throughout the room, which was made of solid grey marble, with an incredibly tall ceiling supported by six grooved pillars, from which about twenty hammocks hung between.

"Where am I?" Bellatrix shouted back, still scanning the room.

"Jesus! Black just go to sleep!" The voice had come from above her and as she looked up she could just about make out the outline of a plump body hanging in the sheets of a hammock.

"Whose that!?" She ordered.

"McNair- Now shut up!" He retorted sleepily.

"Will you two give it a rest!" a slightly higher pitched and broken voice had now joined in the confrontation. Bellatrix was still perched on the floor however she spotted her wand under the bed from which she fell and she picked it up hastily.

"I want to know where I am, NOW!" she bellowed, her voice was stronger than before and she suddenly felt a sense of power issuing from her body and she got to her feet. She could feel her wand twitching and when she looked down at it she could see tiny red sparks shooting out from its tip. Suddenly she became nervous; this is what had happened before she killed the robin… Was she about to make the same mistake again…Only on a student?

However the idea didn't repulse her, she enjoyed it, and she lavished the idea. She allowed the sense of hurting another human being to fill her up, envelope her thoughts and she felt immensely pleased and proud, she was suddenly the happiest she'd been in a long while, as though a veil had lifted from her and she could finally see clearly for the first time.

A low mumbling was starting to rise from around her, yet more students were beginning to wake up from the light and commotion. "Someone turn the light off!" "Trying to sleep here!" "Be quite!" the same sentences were being repeated as the students began to wake up.

Yet still no one had answered her question. Bellatrix had no idea where she was and she felt incredibly disorientated and this made her feel angry. Angry that no one was listening to her, angry that she was so confused. Angry at herself for not remembering. Angry with Tom.

"Ahh good you're all up!"…..the room feel silent; every student was now awake and was either sitting up or standing beside or in their beds and hammocks. They had all turned to look at the large oak door engraved with Tudor roses and vines, and what Bellatrix could just make out as a large serpent. Beside the door, was Tom.

He was staring at them all with nothing short of pure glee. An evil grin appearing from the corners of his thin, dark lips. He was wearing his usual shirt with the sleeves folded up to the elbow, his black trousers crisp and clean. His jet black hair combed perfectly into a side parting atop his head. He was holding a large black, leather bound book in his arms, and he strode towards Bellatrix. His footsteps clipping cleanly on the surface of the stone floor.

"How's your arm?" he asked calmly

She had forgotten about the pain but when she tried to think about it, she couldn't feel anything. It no longer burned or throbbed, as far as she could tell it was fine.

"Fine…where are…" She began.

"Room of Requirement remember, on the seventh floor?" He gazed into her eyes, she wondered if he could see the bewilderment she was feeling at that point, "I brought you here, this is our safe house, and only thoughs of us who know about it can find it." He spoke loudly enough for the other students to be able to hear, all of which were now on their feet and watching Tom eagerly.

"What's a safe house?" A small but butch looking Slytherin boy with hints of stubble and acne over his face asked through the silence. Bellatrix recognised him as Gregory Guild, a fifth year with no apparent magical talent other than starting fights and usually winning them despite his size.

"It's a place only my followers can find. Only you can see them." He addressed it to them all.

Bellatrix felt irritated, she didn't want to be his follower, she wanted to be his lover, his only passion, how could he ignore her and generalise her so? Apparently some of the other Slytherin students were also annoyed by being called a 'follower' as their expressions looked perplexed, some were even frowning.

"You are my Death Eaters. It's a name I have fashioned for you all." He spoke still calmly as ever, a hint of desire in his voice as he spoke. Bellatrix could see he was proud of himself and he beamed at them. No one replied.

"Last night you made the decision to follow me, the marks on your arms show you're allegiance to me." He continued.

Bellatrix frantically lifted her shirt sleeve from her right arm. What she saw horrified her. A grey skull with its jaw agape and a serpent issuing from its mouth wrapping itself into a figure of eight was etched into her skin. The surrounding area was red raw and sore.

"You've scared me!" She yelled forgetting that anyone else was in the chamber.

"No, I've _marked_ you, with _my_ mark, the Dark Mark. You made a vow to serve the dark ways and follow me." Obviously seeing Bellatrixes horrified and furious expression he added in a stern and powerful voice, "In return I will teach you all how to duel, and win, how to control your anger and how to unleash it. The wizarding world shall know us, shall fear us, they will bow down to us. We will be all powerful!"

The students around Bellatrix and Tom cheered, and she couldn't help but feel elated and excited by Tom's words, to be 'all powerful'. A hunger had awakened inside Bellatrix she had never felt before. No rules but her own to be followed. She would be feared and obeyed by all. Even her father could not refuse.

"Now, your first lesson!" Tom spoke, and the room fell silent, everyone appeared to be listening intently. "The Cruciatus Curse!" He smiled, however Bellatrix felt tiny butterflies flutter in her stomach. They were going to be taught illegal magic.

"We can't do that!" McNair had now piped up through the crowd of students, clear worry dawned his expression.

"You _can_ and _you will_. Everybody pair up!" Tom ordered as he placed the black book onto the floor and opened it with a flick of his wand onto a page marked with a red ribbon.

The students needed no second telling. However Bellatrix was left alone, an odd number of pupils meant she could not pair up, but Tom turned to her and said, "you and I will demonstrate Bella"

"I've never used this spell before though…" She hesitated, but gripped her wand tightly nevertheless.

She could feel the eyes of the other students watching her every move now. Heat flushed her cheeks but she was determined not to show weakness. Tom was watching her also, his black eyes shining with contentment.

"On three, I will attempt to use the Cruciatus Curse, you will attempt to block it and retaliate Bella. Do you understand?" He spoke so coolly that Bellatrix was partly entranced by his words and partly terrified. If she failed to defend herself she would be hurt considerably more than anything else she would ever experience. She would be weak.

"One…" He muttered, but Bellatrix raised her wand.

"Two..." She raised her right arm over her head in her usual duelling stance.

"Three…"


	7. Chapter 7

Bellatrix fell to the floor, her body was twisting into awkward and unnatural positions, and her muscles went rigid under the agony. She was writhing in pain on the ice cold floor, tears streamed down her face and her vision kept fading in and out of focus. She opened her mouth to scream but no noise escaped, only a rush of air left her and she gasped.

She saw glimpses of the students around her; all eyes were fixed on her. Then she saw Tom. His wand pointed directly at her. His soulless glare felt like it was boring down into her very being. A red hot heat began to burn its way up her body, rising from her feet to her head, it was like she was being dipped in boiling water.

"Tom Stop!" Bellatrix heard a voice from one of the many students, her stare held on Toms gaze. In her head she was screaming for him to stop, for someone to help her, but she couldn't get her mouth to obey. She lay there twitching furiously in a silent scream of distress. Then she saw him lift his wand in a blurry mass standing before her, and the pain left her as quickly as it had started. However she remained on the floor, panting erratically, she could still feel her muscles spazaming randomly.

"Pathetic." Tom spoke with nothing less than disgust in his voice. He strode over to her. Bellatrix felt herself being hauled off of the ground and lifted to her feet. She looked up to find Crabbe and McNair lifting her and they turned her to face Tom. Crabbe remained by her side, if anything because she needed the support to be able to remain standing up.

Bellatrix felt exhausted, her hair hung around her face in a curly tangled black mass. Her eyes still watering, she felt something hot running down over her mouth. She lift her hand to it and saw a bright crimson red liquid on her fingers, her nose was bleeding badly.

"Pathetic, Bella, really quite pathetic." Tom repeated. No one spoke.

Bellatrix was now glaring directly at him, using the same soulless expression he had given her while she had been squirming around on the floor. She felt ashamed, embarrassed, everyone had seen how easy she had been. They had all watched her fail. They had witnessed for the first time, Bellatrix Black, being weak.

"You barely put up any fight there Bella, I must confess my disappointment in you. I thought you were stronger than that." His words resonated through Bellatrix as he turned around to face the remaining pupils. "I hope nobody else here will be…as weak, as we have just witnessed, otherwise none of you will be very useful at all." Bellatrix felt her hand clench around her wand handle.

She was anything but weak. "How dare he!" she thought. She shrugged off Crabbe's grip with a violent tug and she stood up tall and brushed her hair from around her eyes. Tom had already begun walking towards a group of students who were deciding who to pair off with, all of whom were looking uneasy. However Bellatrix was determined to silence any doubts of her being weak.

"HEY!" She shouted, Tom stopped walking, but he didn't turn around to face her, "Never turn your back on me!" She growled and she raised her wand pointing it directly at Toms back.

"What are you…" He began as he turned on the spot to face her, but Bellatrix didn't let him finish his sentence, she was furious at the way she had just been shown up, at Tom's lack of sympathy towards her. How she was certain she had glimpsed his enjoyment at her pain.

"Expelliarmus!" she cried and Tom's wand flew from his hand about fifty feet into the air. He looked at her in disbelief, he now eyed her every movement. Bellatrix was certain he was trying to determine her next move but she didn't care. She stood before him, her chest heaving with every breath and she raised her wand again, opening her lips to utter the next spell. She could still feel her nose bleeding violently and dripping warm drops onto her shirt collar.

Tom dived out of the way as Bellatrix fired jets of brilliant blue towards him again. It missed him by mere inches but hit Gregory in the face with a loud CRACK! Bellatrix glimpsed his nose begin to swell to the size of a small pumpkin before spinning around to find Tom again.

For the first time ever Bellatrix noticed a flicker of fear in Tom's expression, he was searching the chamber for his wand with frantic efforts, his eyes darting everywhere as fast as possible, weaving between stunned looking pupils. She watched him then sprint towards his wand lying on the floor, a few feet away from her. She saw her opportunity.

"Cru.."

"Expelliarmus!" Someone yelled from behind her and a brilliant purple lightning bolt flashed past Bellatrixes head, missing her by centimetres. She turned to see McNair had now raised his own grey twisted wand and was standing between Bellatrix and Tom. He was defending him.

Bellatrix felt the anger inside her grow, her blood boiled to see such loyalty to Tom. As her anger grew so did the power inside her. It fuelled her. She felt stronger than ever and she began to smile sadistically.

"Stupefy!" she half screamed it, but it was enough. The spell hit McNair, sending him flying like a rag doll across the room before landing perfectly in one of the hanging hammocks above them.

As she watched, she saw that yet more students were beginning to ready their wands, they were all, preparing to take her on, except for a few more cautious pupils, who stayed to the side lines to watch. She was certain that some of them were enjoying it. That they believed she was an easy target after watching Tom and her duel. Others looked more uneasy and seemed only prepared to fight if necessary.

A new emotion had now found a part in Bellatrix. She was still angry but she was enjoying herself. Glee spread across her face into a malicious looking smile and she found herself starting to laugh.

The laugh was a deep cackle and it bounced off of the marble walls. She had never felt so powerful before. More spells were now being fired at her from all angles yet with simple flicks of her wand she defended herself with ease. Nothing hit her. She rebounded several disarming charms onto their owners, sending their wands astray. A midst the confusion however, Bellatrix had lost Tom.

The pupils were now beginning to understand that perhaps they had underestimated her and were backing away, some even hid under beds and in hammocks, while a most began to run out the door.

Another spell whistled past her ear and she turned around to face a small group of three elder students. She giggled at them as she spotted the silky black head of hair standing behind them.

"Come out Tom! Come out, come out and play!" She laughed deeply. However the tallest and most brutish looking student stepped forward. Bellatrix knew of him, she had seen him a few times in defence against the dark arts but he had been sent to Headmaster Dippet for biting a chunk off of a Hufflepuff girl who had accidentally trodden on his robes.

"Greyballs isn't it?" she teased.

"Its _Greyback_ to you Black!" He growled showing his teeth. Bellatrix noticed that they were angular and sharp. Most of them were a deep yellow in colour, many of which even looked rotten. They were revolting to look at.

He raised his wand, "Stupefy!"

"Ennervate!" Bellatrix screamed, countering Greyback's curse. There was a brief pause when neither did anything, the other two smaller Slytherin's had scarpered as soon as Greyback had fired his spell, leaving Bellatrix facing him and Tom alone. But she didn't care about the doggish boy; she was determined to fight Tom.

Glancing at Tom she saw a look of pleasure as he observed them fight. This angered her further. She was through playing games against these imbeciles.

"Haven't you ever heard of brushing your teeth, DOG!" she cried, Greyback looked menacingly at her but she remained undeterred, "Densaugeo!" her spell hit him in the mouth with a loud _POP_ and he fell to the floor, grasping his mouth as his teeth began to enlarge past his chin and kept growing. He whimpered like a frightened pup and ran out of the room on all fours.

There was a moment of silence as Bellatrix and Tom stood staring at one another. Then Tom stepped forward slowly, but he wasn't afraid, if anything he was totally calm. Did he not realise how furious she was with him, or did he think she was simply attempting to frighten him, if so, why hadn't it worked?

"Nice, very nice Bella." He clapped his hands together in a triumphant manner. "I'm not going to deny it, I knew you were good at duelling but that was something else!" he beamed at her.

"Shut-up!" she sounded more frustrated than angry now, "Fight me!" she ordered.

"Don't be absurd," he mocked chuckling to himself, "you would lose such a fight."

"I wouldn't and you know it!" she retorted, "I think you're a coward! Hiding behind your so called _'followers'_. I will never _follow_ you!" she wasn't telling the truth, she would do anything for him even saying the words ripped at her heart. Tom smirked. 'Does he know how I feel?' she thought. His look angered her. How dare he take her threats so lightly. She was certain he was laughing at her. "Impedimenta!" the spell was sharp from her lips but the energy behind it wasn't there anymore. She didn't really want to hurt him.

"Protego!" Bellatrix froze. She was frozen to the spot. Her spell had rebounded. Tom had been too quick. "Now, now Bella that will do for today I think." She eyed him as he observed his wand lovingly, as if he was having his own private convocation with it. She knew he would never look upon her like that, however right now she didn't want him to. She hated him. He was embarrassing her, even though there was now no one around to see it.

He flicked his wand without looking at her and her limbs became mobile again; however she was slightly weaker in the knees than before. She tried to step forward but found herself tumbling to the floor. Too weak to lift herself up, she lay there.

"The Jelly-legs curse Bella, don't worry it'll wear off soon. I trust I'll see you back here this evening after class."

'_After class? What time is it? What day is it?!' _Her thoughts jumped as she realised she still couldn't remember anything that had happened after leaving the common room with Tom. What had happened what had he done to her, and to all the other students? All she knew was that she had to find out and fast, before he could do it to anymore pupils. She tried to lift herself off the icy cold ground, but her body was shaking erratically and she slumped back to the ground.

"Don't worry; it should only last ten minutes or so. That should give you plenty of time to grab some breakfast before Herbology." She couldn't see Tom past her thick black curls which had fallen over her eyes as she lay there. She could only listen to Toms footsteps growing fainter as he crossed the room, before hearing the large entrance door creak open and close again.

From what she could tell she was alone, once again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors note: Sorry I haven't updated sooner I have been writing over the holidays but just haven't had time, (or internet) to post them. however here is the first installment of chapter 8 which will come in 3 parts over the next 3 days, which is why the first part is so short. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoy reading my story! ^_^ Please review and tell me where you would like the story to go, any characters you want to see more of, or just generally what you think of it so far :) Thank you and happy reading! **

* * *

Chapter 8 - Part one - Being found

Bellatrix heard the door creak open again. '_Perhaps Tom has come back?_' was her first thought, but she soon realised it was not him when she heard a voice call;

"Miss Black?..Oh dear…" she listened to the shuffling of faint footsteps growing louder as they walked towards her but Bellatrix felt too drained to open her eyes and see who it was.

"Bellatrix? Can you hear me my dear?" a woman's voice spoke softly into Bellatrixes ear. She shook her head in an attempt to open her eyes, but she was too exhausted to even manage that.

"Best to take her down to the hospital wing Poppy, you'll be able to examine her better there." The elder man spoke again concern present in his croaking voice.

"Yes Dippet, I think she's lost a lot of blood however Headmaster, look." Bellatrix could only listen to their nearly muffled voices as she drifted between consciousness'.

"Let me see Poppy…. Ahh yes, that nose will need fixing promptly… Better do it in the hospital, I have a feeling the room would prefer us to leave." Bellatrix felt herself being lifted off the floor, however no arms were holding her there, in fact she was certain she was floating.

"Otherwise it would have supplied us with hospital beds along with miss Black."

Bellatrix listened as she heard the clap of shoes hitting the stone floor, walking briskly just a little way in front of her as she floated along. The footsteps stopped briefly, as too did Bellatrix, who was still drifting in mid air.

"Are you coming headmaster?" asked Madame Pomfrey's dainty voice.

"I have some investigating to do here first Poppy." Dippet's voice sounded much more serious than normal, "send a Potronus for me when Mrs Black wakes, I have a few questions to ask her."

His voice grew fainter and Bellatrix felt herself float into a warmer and slightly better lit area, however the warmth did nothing to her. She had heard Dippet's voice when he said, "_question to ask_". The words played over and over again in her head, a great twang of fear and anxiety bubbled in her stomach each time the words replayed.

However everything was fading; the light, the warmth even the footsteps of Madame Pomfrey in front seemed to be growing fainter. Then everything went dark.  
_


	9. Chapter 8 Continued

The dream.

Bellatrix found herself running down a deserted marble corridor, she realized it was the fourth floor as she ran past the defence against the dark arts class room. For some reason though she was unable to stop herself running. Her legs appeared to be moving of their own free will.

She darted around a large bend; everything was becoming a blur as she appeared to be picking up speed, until everything blended into a mass of brown and grey spears as still she ran on at inhumanly quick pace.

As she ran she noticed her uniform begin ripping apart. First her cardigan became little more than thread as it tangled away. She could feel her shirt tearing at the seams; the buttons pinged off in all directions.

'_Oh God this is going to be one of thoughs naked nightmare dreams!_' she thought to herself.

As she did so she attempted to keep hold of as much material as possible but it all melted away into little more than fabric dust in her hands. She shut her eyes tightly in a hope of waking herself up, or to at least avoid the humiliation of running through Hogwarts stark nude.

However she didn't feel naked. She couldn't feel any wind brush her body if she was. Still sprinting she looked down at herself.

She had changed into her most favourite dress; a floor length black satin ball gown with a corseted waist and flecks of green emeralds embellished into the fabric. Cobwebbed laced gloves covered her hands and wrists with a diamond bracelet that wound its way around her wrist in the shape or a serpent biting its tail.

As she looked at where she was running to she noticed she was approaching a door at the end of the hallway. It was a gothic black arched door and for a moment Bellatrix thought she recognised it but couldn't understand why it was in Hogwarts. As she neared it Bellatrix feared she was about to crash through it as still her legs carried her towards it, but just before impact she stopped abruptly.

Bellatrix felt compelled to open the door, she was unsure why she felt such a desperate need to walk through the door but if anything curiosity got the better of her.

Her dainty gloved hand turned the handle, she was certain she could hear a melody of violins playing accompanied by several voices in a mix of conversations and laughing. She pushed on the wood of the door and it flung open.

Instantly she was pulled through the door by a pair of hands and into a brightly candle lit room filled to bursting point with people.

"There you are Bella! What took you so long?" Bellatrix found herself staring at her younger sister, Narcissa, and she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of her for looking so pretty in a pale green ball gown with black lace running down from the corset to the floor leaving a short tail behind her as she moved.

"Was getting ready, you look gorgeous Cissy!" she didn't know why she said it, the truth was she'd run through Hogwarts and had somehow managed to find herself walking into the Malfoy Manors Ball room.

"Liar! You know you're the pretty one" Teased Narcissa nudging her sister playfully. " Besides I've been bored stiff. Don't think Christmas balls are my thing, I only know the Malfoy's here."

Bellatrix looked to where Narcissa had pointed to and saw a two tall and fairly good looking wizards, Both with white blonde hair and recognised them as Abraxsus and Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was only a year older than Narcissa but that never seemed to phase either of them.

"That's all the company you need to know at this party to have a good time Cissy" Bellatrix winked at Narcissa and Bellatrix laughed as she watched her sister become flushed in the face.

"Girls!" a deep cry came from across the other side of the very full black granite room, so loud that half of the other guests went quite and looked around.

Bellatrix froze, as too did Narcissa.

"Oh god, he's drunk already..." whimpered Narcissa in a hushed whisper. Bellatrix grabbed her sisters hand a squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't worry he wouldn't do anything stupid in public." Said Bellatrix trying to sound as strong as possible.

"GIRLS! COME OVER HERE!" Bellowed Cygnus Black, yet more guests went quiet and several pairs of eyes fell on the pair, including to Narcissa's embarrassment, Lucius Malfoy's.

The two of them walked awkwardly through the chattering crowd to where their father stood, hastily joined by Andromeda, the middle sister, wearing an equally beautiful gold gown with red rubies and sequins making up the pattern of a rose around her bosoms.

"_How Gryffindor_" Bellatrix thought, however her sister had always been one to rebel.

"Girls I would like to introduce you to Avery Lestrange father to these two fine gentlemen here" two figures similar in height and similar in looks stepped forward and bowed their head at the three girls. Avery looked pale and ill looking, his skin seemed to barely stretch over his bones, his blue eyes were sunken inwards inside the dark sockets, he frightened Bellatrix, but she didn't show it as she smiled and bowed her head at him, with her sisters following in suit.

"Yes," Avery croaked, "These are my two sons, Rabastan and Rodolphus" He said as he lifted a frail hand, chequered with liver spots, off of a twisted walking stick and patted Rodolphus on the shoulder.

Bellatrix found herself staring into Rodolphus' dark brown eyes. His entire physique was that of a strong man, with well built muscles pulling at the sleeves of his black ruffled shirt. His hair was curled black mass, '_like mine'_ she thought instinctively reaching for her own hair, which was tied up into a neatly organised crows nest with only a few curled strands hanging down.

Rodolphus smiled and spoke kindly, "pleasure to make your acquaintance" He spoke more to Bellatrix than to all of them and Bellatrix felt the familiar embarrassed red warmth spread through her cheeks.

"Yes well I believe the next number from the violin quartet should be a dancing one!" Cygnus slurred. Bellatrix noticed as Avery looked at her father with what she was certain was repulsion.

"How can you know that father?" Andromeda asked.

"Because dearest daughters," he grimaced, "I asked them to!" he said half laughing while all of their eyes were now on him.

Embarrassed further Bellatrix began, "but father they haven't heard your requ…" she stopped mid-sentence however as her father sent a sulky looking fox Patronus charm toward the band. The music stopped playing and then resumed with a slightly livelier beat than before.

Cygnus gestured with a wave of his hand to Bellatrix and then to Rodolphus, who looked slightly pinker than before, to go to the dance floor. Avery let out a slight cough and a nudge of his head towards Bellatrix as his son looked at him.

'_Could this be anymore planned out_!?' Bellatrix thought to herself. Irritated by the silence she said matter-of-factly, "well I think we should dance, don't you?" as she looked amongst them all.

There was an awkward pause. The Lestranges looked unsure of what to do next, so Bellatrix turned to face Narcissa and Andromeda and grabbed both of their arms.

"Come on, it will be over by the time we make a decision at this rate!" and she pulled her sisters to the centre of the dance floor. As they walked away she was certain she heard her father say to Rodolphus and Rabastan, "follow the girls, get to know them a bit more."

When they reached the middle the three sisters danced amongst themselves not paying any attention to the dozens of people who had moved off of the dance floor to the edges as much as they could in order to resume their conversations and watch the dancers.

"That was sooooo awkward!" said Narcissa "I nearly died on the spot when father called us over!"

"I know what you mean! How much do you reckon he's had so far?" Asked Andromeda

"Don't know and don't care much, maybe it will put him in the grave faster!" Bellatrix sounded angrier than she had wanted to.

"Bella!" hissed Andromeda as she stopped dancing.

"What? Don't tell me you don't agree..." Bellatrix eyed her sister who was shaking her head and pointed to behind her.

"Ahem!" Bellatrix froze, "mind if I join you?" She spun around on the spot to find Rodolphus standing behind her.

"Ermmm not at all." Bellatrix tried to sound confident.

"You'll have to dance with Bellatrix alone for a bit, Cissy and I are going to get some punch." Andromeda had already begun dragging Narcissa off the dance floor before Bellatrix even had a chance to protest. As she watched her sisters walk away Andromeda turned around and gave Bellatrix a very obvious wink.

'_Oh just typical'_ Bellatrix thought as she gave her sister a look which she had hoped would manage to blow her up on the spot, to no such luck however. So she turned back to Rodolphus who was stood staring at her rather awkwardly.

"May I?" He held out his hand and Bellatrix looked at it briefly before placing her hand in his.

'_Well at least it's not sweaty!'_ she thought

"You can join your sisters if you prefer?" Rodolphus seemed to have noticed Bellatrixes awkward expression.

"No, no! They'll be fine on their own" she tried to laugh but it sounded fake.

The pair began to waltz slowly and stiffly in the middle as other couples now also joined in the dance around them. '_No way out now'_ she thought as she looked around.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name Miss Black?"

"Bellatrix" she said sharply.

"Pretty name" Rodolphus smiled.

'_I hate small talk'_ her voice sounded irritated inside her head. Bellatrix felt bored and found herself looking around hoping to catch a glimpse of her sisters returning soon.

"Beautiful dress Bellatrix" He said as he sent Bellatrix into a small one-armed twirl before bringing her back to him. They now stood closer together than before and Bellatrix looked at him and she found herself admiring his rather handsome features.

"You obviously didn't look at my sisters then." She joked

"I was too busy looking at you." Their movements moved smoother now as they began to relax with each other.

'_Is he flirting with me? He must be nuts!_' she was laughing inside her head now, but even she couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

"I think you have had too much of Malfoy's first millennia wine" she couldn't hide the flirtatious tone now seeping into her voice.

"On the contrary, I don't want to take any chances with forgetting this moment Miss Black." With this he pulled her even closer to him and lowered his hand onto the small of her back. She felt excited and didn't care about who saw what she did next. She stopped dancing and raised her arms up to Rodolphus' shoulders and looked from his eyes to his lips. He closed the distance between them. Her eyes shut and she felt as his lips near hers.

"BELLA!" Narcissa was staring at them dumbfounded, while Andromeda on the other hand was bright red from holding back a laugh.

Bellatrix pushed herself away from Rodolphus, suddenly feeling very exposed she noticed as several dozens of eyes were looking at them and were muttering amongst each other. To the back of the crowd she saw her father smiling triumphantly and he raised a glass to her and them chimed it into Avery's, nearly knocking it out of his hands.

"I'll see you around," and Rodolphus began to walk away, "come outside if you get bored, Rabastan said something about fireworks later." He was then lost in the crowd. Bellatrix turned to her sisters, Andromeda was looking slightly more under control now and they walked away back towards the door Bellatrix had first entered from.

As they walked through the crowd Narcissa was calling out from behind Bellatrix. "Bella, where are you going?"

"Home." She said sternly.

" We've only been here an hour though?" her voice was growing fainter now as Bellatrixes walk picked up speed through the crowd.

"I don't care, I looked like a fool back there, and I'm going home."

"Bella stop!" Andromeda had caught up with her just before Bellatrix had managed to open the door and leave. "I over heard father and Avery talking earlier"

"What?" Concern ebbed its way into her voice now.

"You heard. Look they planned that dance, they planned the whole evening for you and Rodolphus!" Andromeda exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Anne!" Bellatrix looked around, she was trying to make eye contact with any of the guests to see if she could judge whether or not they knew something she didn't.

"Father and Lestrange, they've arra….." she trailed off and Bellatrix noticed the worry spread across her expression.

"Spit it out!"

"They've….They've arranged for you and Rodolphus to well…..Marry"

Bellatrix felt her heart sink. "Wha..What..?" she said breathlessly.

"Bella I'm so sorry, they just made the deal this evening, the contracts been sent to alert the Ministry already and everything." Andromeda hugged Bellatrix tightly but she didn't return the hug, she was too shocked to move.

"What contracts, why didn't I have to sign anything?" her eyes were filling with tears.

"You're not seventeen until next year…. I don't think you have a choice…. Oh Bella I'm so sorry." Andromeda was now the one in full floods of tears as she hugged Bellatrix even tighter.

Bellatrix found herself being pulled back through the door only now she wasn't running. She was falling. Faster and faster she fell through the air and into the darkness. She opened her mouth to scream but didn't hear it as the wind whistled past her ears.

Her ball gown disappeared and became her usual school uniform, her hair unravelled itself as she tumbled faster and faster. Then she saw the floor getting closer and closer. She was certain she was going to crash into it. She covered her eyes with her arms.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Bellatrix screamed and sat bolt upright in the hospital bed, her heart was pounding in her throat and adrenalin was coursing through her veins.

"Ahh good Mrs. Black, you're awake." She looked to her left to see Headmaster Dippet and Albus Dumbledore sitting comfortably on the other empty hospital bed. It looked as though they had been playing a game of cards before Bellatrix had woken up.

"I have a few questions I need to ask you Bellatrix."


	10. Chapter 8 part 3

"How did I….?" Bellatrix looked at Madame Pomfrey as the witch walked briskly over to her and began counting her pulse.

"We found you, myself and Madame Pomfrey here" Dippet began, "In the room of requirement, and she transported you back to the hospital wing."

"You were lucky we found you too!" Madame Pomfrey squeaked, "You had a broken nose that wouldn't stop bleeding, owing to someone placing a jelly legs curse on you, making you're blood incredibly thin and unable to clot." She dropped Bellatrixes arm back down and began walking back towards her office while muttering something about, "three blood transfusions" and "stock looks a bit low…"

"Yes well as you can see your nose is now healed and you no longer have the curse on you." Dippet clapped his hands onto his knees and he shifted his position on the bed so he faced Bellatrix more squarely.

"However Miss Black." He paused watching her intently, but Bellatrix knew what he was going to ask.

"I don't know how I got there." She exclaimed, the two teachers swapped glances, "I don't remember anything apart from leaving the common room with…. Someone…" she didn't think it was wise to put Tom on the spotlight just yet. However Dumbledore as watching Bellatrix with interested blue eyes over his half-mooned spectacles and Bellatrix was certain he knew she was withholding information.

"Then I just, woke up in the room of requirement." She said, stopping abruptly, she didn't like the idea of telling the headmaster that she and several other students had been practising the crutiatus curse or that she had managed to successfully duel half of them out of the room.

"Were there others with you Bellatrix?" Asked Dumbledore quizzically.

"Yes. A few."

"Can you remember how many exactly?" Dumbledore never took his eyes off of her and Bellatrix began to feel hot and clammy under the scrutiny.

"Not exactly, but there must have been about twenty maybe more, I don't really remember." She said honestly.

"Who was organising this…errr…Gathering Miss Black?" Dippet now re-joined in with the questioning but his voice was sympathetic.

"Ermmm…I…" Bellatrix wasn't sure whether to tell them or not, she didn't want to get Tom into trouble but neither did she want to be in trouble herself.

"You are not in any trouble Bellatrix" Dumbledore said calmly, "we just need to know the facts, after all you were severely injured from this event."

'_Yes I was wasn't I!?_ _This is all Tom's fault!_' She thought, suddenly waves of anger rushed through her as she recalled Toms smile when he had put the curse on her, when he had seen her writhing about in pain on the floor. At this, one word sprang into her mind, '_Payback!_'

"It was Tom, Tom Riddle!" The two teachers now stared at each other almost in shock. Bellatrix felt her right arm begin to twinge under her shirtsleeve.

"The Head Boy did this?" Dippet said in disbelief.

"Yes and he did this to me too!" She trust her right arm at them and pulled the sleeve up, revealing the grey skull and serpent in a figure of eight. Upon looking at it Bellatrix was certain that it was moving.

Dumbledore pulled Bellatrixes arm towards him so he could get a better look for himself. "This looks to be the same as what I saw on Crabbe and McNair's left arms last week. They were showing it off to their friends." He said to Dippet.

"Can you get it off me? It hurts!" Dippet looked away from her arm and right into Bellatrixes eyes, unable to hold the gaze she looked at her arm as it began to burn slowly under the skin.

"I'm afraid not Miss Black. It would appear you have been given a magically induced brand by, if it is who we believe it to be, Tom Riddle." Dippet sighed.

"You mean I'm stuck with this!?" Bellatrix yelled.

"Yes I am afraid so, But why Tom has given it to you I cannot say, however you say it hurts?" Dumbledore asked letting go of her arm. Bellatrix nodded.

"Is the pain like a burn, stab, pins and needles or freezing?"

"Burn." She answered.

"This would appear, in that case, to be a summoning brand." Dumbledore stood up, as too did Dippet. Bellatrix watched them intently, she was trying to gage whether or not she really was in trouble and if they had just said that she wasn't just to get the information they were after.

"I suggest you get some rest Miss Black, I have informed your teachers that you probably won't be in lessons tomorrow." Dippet turned and began walking away, Dumbledore in the mean time stayed where he was.

"I don't want to miss any lessons sir, I feel fine, honest." Bellatrix lied, her arm felt hot and tingly from the brand and she couldn't help but feel very light headed. Never the less Bellatrix swung her legs out of the side of the bed, fighting the dizziness that spun through her head.

"I don't think so young lady!" Madame Pomfrey shrieked as she re-emerged from her office carrying a yellow jar with what appeared to contain very fine grains of golden sand. "You need rest and sleep, you lost a lot of blood from that nose of yours and you need to get your system used to the donated blood."

Bellatrix watched as Madame Pomfrey took out a small silver spoon from the bedside cabinet and uncorked the yellow bottle with her wand. However Bellatrix didn't enjoy being in the hospital wing, she preferred to get better alone. She recalled how her father had taught her and her sisters from a very young age that; "_A wizard or witch who cannot help themselves cannot be fit to help others, only fit for death. Only the strong survive."_ Words she had never forgotten.

"I'm not taking that stuff!" Bellatrix said sternly, as the bottle magically emptied its sandy content onto the spoon in Madame Pomfrey's hand.

"Bellatrix I think it would be best in this instance if you did, Madame Pomfrey is right, you need sleep." Dumbledore said softly.

"No way that's solid sand!" Bellatrix sounded a bit more frantic than stern now and she watched as Dumbledore seemed to let out a light chuckle.

"This will help you sleep." Madame Pomfrey was beginning to sound impatient, "Now get back into bed and lie down."

"Help me sleep? What did the sand man give you that stuff or something?" she laughed sarcastically but it sounded manic and inhuman. "Honestly I'm fine Miss, I just want to go to lessons."

"If you'll wait just for a few more minutes Poppy, I have a few more things to ask Bellatrix" Dumbledore interjected.

Madame Pomfrey sighed and folded her arms in frustration. "Alone if you don't mind Poppy." And the nurse walked off.

"I am in trouble aren't I?" Bellatrix looked at Dumbledore, she thought that although his body looked fairly frail he still seemed to walk about with the energy of someone much younger.

"No, no, no Bellatrix, you are definitely not in trouble..." He chuckled again.

"Is Tom then?" She interrupted.

"Possibly." Dumbledore paused. "He may be in the future however, if this sort of thing continues." He sighed.

"Do you think it will do Professor?"

"I am unsure yet, but if it does it could lead Tom and by the sounds of it, several other students down a very dark path indeed. Including you, Bellatrix." She was certain that Dumbledore wasn't telling her off but he was giving her a warning. _'He knows something I don't'_ she thought, and she tried to consider the possibilities of what Tom would be like as an adult. The image was not a pretty one.

"Now I just have one more question I need to ask you." Dumbledore rummaged inside one of his pockets in his purple robes and pulled out a vial containing a violently pink liquid. Bellatrix gasped.

"I take it this is your love potion Bellatrix?" He said with a knowing smile and Bellatrix knew there was no point lying and she dropped her head and gazed at the sheets. She felt foolish and embarrassed and her cheeks turned scarlet.

"Yes professor." Even her voice sounded guilty.

"Hmmm I thought so. It wasn't by chance for one of the other students was it young lady?" Bellatrix was certain that inside Dumbledore was laughing at her stupidity and she felt ashamed for even contemplating the idea. "Only it's against school rules to do such a thing, it also goes against life in general. Surely a smart girl such as yourself must know this?"

"I was going to give it…." She hesitated, she thought she may sound desperate, but when she looked up into Dumbledore's bright blue eyes she knew it was better to tell the truth, just this once. "I was going to give it to, Tom."

"Riddle?"

"Yes sir." She nodded before looking at her fingers as she twiddled them in the awkwardness.

"But you didn't, did you?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"No sir." Tears began to fill in Bellatrixes eyes but not from embarrassment, from anger at herself for being stupid enough to think she could ever get away with such a plan. She was even angrier at the fact she was allowing herself to be so honest about such matters, and to a teacher too.

"Then I cannot punish you." Bellatrix looked up to see Dumbledore's beaming expression looking down at her.

"You're…. You're not?" She said as a tear ran down her cheek.

"No, I can't I'm afraid. You didn't give it to a pupil so you are not guilty of anything except carrying it around with you. However," he continued, "I will take it away with me so you shouldn't be found to have it on your person later?" He said it more as a question to Bellatrix, she was now certain he was probing her to find out if she had anymore potion, but alas she didn't and she shook her head in response.

"Good. In that case then, I bid you goodnight." With that he began walking back towards the hospital door and at the same time Madame Pomfrey appeared from her office, yet again, and walked over to Bellatrix, golden spoonful in hand.

Just as Dumbledore was about to leave however, he turned around and looked at Bellatrix, who stared back at him, before he said calmly, "You know Bellatrix, this would never have made Tom love you." He waved the potion vial in his hand, "he would merely have become obsessed and infatuated by you, and I don't think he would have interested you once he had changed, do you?" Then Dumbledore turned and walked out of the door and closed it behind him. Bellatrix heard a faint *Click. '_He's locked me in! Great. Now I'm stuck here!"_ she thought crossly and she folded her arms and legs and scowled at Madame Pomfrey who was now by her beside.

"There's no way I'm swallowing sand!" she said stubbornly.

"HA!" Madame Pomfrey laughed, "you're not going to swallow this, good God! Close your eyes please!" She raised the spoon up to her own mouth.

"You wha…" Too late Madame Pomfrey blew hard onto the spoon, scattering Bellatrix in bright golden sand particles and before her head had even hit the pillows, she was sound asleep.


End file.
